A/N: Hi! So I'm finally back from a year-long hiatus. I know that I kept a lot of you hanging and I apologize for that. It's just that life got in the way and I found it difficult to find some free time to just sit and write this. Maybe some of you are mad at me (and you have every right to be) but I hope that this chapter will still give you the million dollar question: What the hell happened to Terracea? Honestly, life has been so kind to me. First of all, I'm proud to announce that I'm excelling in my classes and I'm so proud of myself. Second, I have adapted to a healthy lifestyle, since I go to the gym every morning and never skipped a day (so far), and third, I'm doing well in my job and I even started my own musubi business. With all of these things going on in my life, I didn't have time to sit and write - which is something that I used to have in my previous employment back when I worked in an office with a workload so taxing that I needed an escape.
Writing Weird was some sort of a catharsis for me, and this year I felt like I didn't need it, you know? But reading all of your reviews made me realize how much this fic meant to the readers and how much they want to know what will happen next. I don't want to be a jerk of an author to tell you guys to write your own or theorize what will happen. No, I promised that I wouldn't leave you hanging. So I read Weird again, from the first chapter to the last... hoping that I could rekindle the fire that I used to have when I first wrote this story. Forgive me because I haven't updated myself in the latest episodes of SVTFOE, but this story felt like it didn't need to be - since I have deviated from Nefcy's plot a long time ago.
So here goes. Enjoy.
CHAPTER 10:
"Are you mad?" Brielle asked, voice slightly whimpering as she prepared to hear the worst.
"Well..." came another voice on the phone. Despite her usual upbeat voice, this seemed quite hesitant, like she was deliberating whether to be honest or not. Unfortunately, Brielle already knew, and she immediately started to apologize over the phone.
"I'm so sorry! I'm so so so sorry! If I wasn't negligent this wouldn't have happened! I feel like everything is all my fault!" Brielle cried. What? It's true. Everything is her fault, and Mabel has every goddamn right to be mad at her.
"Brielle..."
"The event is happening a week from now and I can't believe that I ruined everything!"
"BRIELLE!" Mabel yelled over the phone. This made Brielle sit up straight, instantly stopping her self-berating rant.
Mabel cleared her throat before opening her mouth to speak, with words flowing slowly and soothing this time. "Brielle, chill. I'm not mad at you or anything,"
"But the moon prop!" Brielle insisted, sounding a little choked as she tried to hold back her tears. "Y-you know that we worked so hard and it... huuuuurrrrtssss..."
Mabel slumped in her seat and started to swivel her chair from side to side. Now she knows what Dipper must have felt whenever she cries about her ex-boyfriends. She knew that self-depreciating statements very well.
"I don't know what to feel," Brielle said, choking back her tears. "Y-you know 'cause I'm mad but it hurts… it huuu…"
"Hey, don't cry…"
"Mabel… she was on the moon prop… and... sniff… it fell because she was on it…" Brielle explained, rubbing her nose afterwards.
"Who is that person?" Mabel demanded.
"It's your friend… Pika…" Brielle managed to say.
"Gosh... I can't believe she's getting out of control... I'll talk to her, I promise," Mabel said. "Anyway, we still have time. We can work on it tomorrow. You should rest."
"I just feel like… I failed you. You had so much expectations and…"
"What? Don't say that. You're the best person who ever worked with me! Come on Brielle, do me a favor and rest. You deserve a lot of sleep, girl! I'm gonna get mad at you if you don't,"
"Okay," Brielle said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Where… where are you?"
"Skipped a few classes and went home. Math homework. I have to do a report. Everything is due tomorrow and I just don't understand the concepts,"
"What about Dipper?"
"Believe me, he tried to help me out… but I still couldn't understand how to make a frequency distribution table,"
"I can…"
"Shh! No! You rest. Please. You need to rest,"
Brielle pouted. "Fine,"
"Rest, okay? I gotta go,"
"Okay, thanks for everything Mabel,"
"I should be the one thanking you," Mabel said before ending the call.
Brielle sighed, giving her toolbox a wistful glance. "What should I do?" she asked herself.
Everybody in the gym must be so discouraged right now. Brielle remembered every disappointed look on the people's faces as soon as they realized that the prop crashed to the floor.
In situations like these, people need their leader the most.
"Aw, heck!" she exclaimed, grabbing the handle of her toolbox as she exited her car.
"Whoa," Jacob exclaimed, pushing away a strand of the grapevine decor as he led the Mathletes through the entrance. "It's like a mystical garden of some sort,"
"Right?" Don excitedly said, tugging Terra's arm as he led the Mathletes inside the gym. "And in the middle of it all is the centerpiece..."
"...is the broken moon prop," Marco finished, pointing at the broken ball that sat in the middle of the room.
"Sweepers comin' through," Justin announced as he walked in front of the group, pushing a big cart of broomsticks and other cleaning materials. "Oh," Terra said, pulling Crystal aside as Justin and the rest of the crew approached the ArtCo and PromCom. Sad faces surrounded the broken sphere resting in the middle of the room.
"Why so dejected, you guys? The event is still a week away," Justin told the group.
"A week will never ever compare to the months of hard work we put in this prop," a member of the ArtCo said, shaking his head sorrowfully. His hands were covered in paint and bits of plaster. "The sculptures I made, all broken on the floor," he mourned.
"I got one thing to say to that: shit happens," Justin replied, tossing the ArtCo kid with a broom. "You can mope forever or do something about it. I highly suggest the latter,"
The Mathletes watched as Justin and the athletes distributed cleaning materials to those who wanted to clean. Other kids just sat in silence, probably trying to come up with ways on how to fix the moon prop. Star, on the other hand, was trying to perform a spell on the remaining shards... to no avail.
"Y'know I feel really bad for them worker ants," Don remarked as they watched the people sweep the shards, fragments, and debris closer to the broken sphere. "They invested a lot of their feelings into making the moon prop. It was supposed to be the star of the show,"
The Mathletes nodded sympathetically.
"Brielle's the most heartbroken about it. She's supervising the whole thing and because this happened under her watch, she thinks it's her fault. 'Cause of that, it's kind of hard to talk to her right now," Don continued, ruefully looking at the group.
"Understandable, knowing how she is if things don't go her way," Dipper remarked, nodding. "Speaking of Brielle, where did she go?"
"Maybe the newbie knows," Don said, thumbing the blonde walking towards their direction. It was Princess Star Butterfly, the heir of Mewni, and the rightful owner of the "Living Doll" title. Her sparkling blonde hair was wrapped with a light grey scrunchie, and her dainty neck was wrapped with a snug-looking frayed scarf.
"Don't you feel hot in your get-up?" Don asked. "It's like an oven in here,"
Star shrugged. "I like my scarf," she said, giving the fabric a gentle tug.
"It's attractive… enh… just not the kind of clothes I would wear in this heat. Not that I'm opposing your style, I do think you're fabulous," Don said, then he waved his hand dismissively. "Never mind, I'm rambling. Anyway, do you have an idea where Brielle is?"
"Brielle told me that she's gonna go get her toolbox," Star replied. "So that would probably mean that she's in the carpark because that's where her car is, or she could be in the toolshed because that is where the tools are,"
"Yeah, I think we get the idea where my cousin is," Marco said, pulling the princess in a side hug. "Hi," he greeted.
Star didn't realize it, but her arm automatically wrapped itself around Marco's waist. "Hi," she replied, resisting the urge to pull him in for a passionate kiss. Stupid Mewni hormones. Stupid situation. Stupid roles and rules. Stupid everything. "How are you?" Marco asked, obviously oblivious to her current uneasiness. Should she push him away physically or verbally?
Since she couldn't do the former, she opted for the latter.
"Mmm, not so great. Please don't come near me," Star replied, frowning. It was an honest response.
"Why? Are you sick?" Marco asked, moving his head slightly away from hers. Then he tried to put a hand on her forehead.
"A little bit," Star half-lied as she moved her head away from his hand. She's not literally sick, but she's sick of the feeling of being flighty around her best friend. Why can't she lead a normal life like the humans whose bodies don't turn into monsters if they are denied with sexual gratification?
"Anything I can do to help you?" Marco probed.
"No," which is the full truth. He can't help her. Marco cannot know the truth. If he knew then… friendship over.
"You're sweating a lot, you should probably remove your scarf," Marco said, sounding concerned.
Star shook her head. "You know I can't,"
"You really can't," Marco sadly affirmed, feeling slightly guilty for her discomfort. Star tried her best to fake a smile as she wiped her face with the frayed ends of her scarf.
Jacob cleared his throat in an exaggerated fashion. "Erm, I believe that you haven't introduced us to your girlfriend," he said.
Marco looked at the Mathletes and realized that the only people Star had the pleasure to meet was Dipper and Brielle. With his hand still on her waist, he pulled her closer to the curious group. "Yes, I haven't introduced my girl-space-friend to my new friends,"
"Uhuh," Star agreed. "That's what I am to you… your girl-space-friend, haha…"
"Aren't you?" Marco asked.
Star nodded. Okay, this is getting awkward maybe I should stop talking now, she thought.
"Um, FYI Marco, we're not friends yet. We're acquaintances," Crystal said to Marco. "Colleagues, workmates, nothing more,"
Marco decided to ignore the little girl's comment and gave the group his best showman smile. "Everyone, meet Star Butterfly. My roommate and best friend," he said.
"His girl-space-friend," Star emphasized.
"My girl-space-friend," Marco affirmed.
"Okay, we get the point," Jacob said, nodding. "I mean it's cool that you're friendzoning each other but-"
"Hi! My name is Terra Pendleton, internal vice president of the Mathletes," Terra said, interrupting Jacob before he could launch a tirade. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Star Butterfly,"
"And it's a pleasure to meet one of the prettiest girls in school," Star replied. "Seriously, I know tons of boys who have a big crush on you,"
Terra blushed a little. "Come on, that's not true," she said, trying her best to conceal the pleasure she felt when she heard the compliment.
"It is true," Star insisted. "I even follow you on Instagram,"
"The Star Butterfly is following me on Instagram? That is a dream come true," Terra gushed.
Now it was Jacob's turn to interrupt Terra's moment. "I am Jacob, the external vice president," he said, extending his hand for a handshake. "If you're a gamer, follow me on Twitch," he casually said. Marco instantly noticed that his right hand was wrapped with a very familiar glove.
"Star! Don't!" Marco yelled, pulling the princess back from the raven-haired prankster. "He's gonna zap you with his joy buzzer!"
"Damn it, you spoiler! You killjoy!" Jacob cursed, retracting his hand as he shot Marco a glare. "Why did you do that?"
"Because you're a jerk," Marco replied.
"I am not!" Jacob protested. "I am a nice person!"
"Then why did you try to zap me with your joy buzzer?" Star asked.
"Um, because you are zappable?" Jacob answered. "And zapping people with a joy buzzer does not make me a jerk,"
"Um, newsflash, it kind of does," Terra pointed out.
"I'll zap you, sweetheart," Jacob threatened Terra, letting the buzzer hover over her head.
"Don't you dare," Terra replied.
"Speaking of zapping, Star can zap you with her magic wand," Marco said. "Did I tell you that she's an alien from the planet Mewni? Yes, she can do actual magic if she wanted to,"
Star pouted. "You're bragging again," she said.
"Trust me, people deserve to know how awesome you are," Marco replied, winking.
Jacob scoffed. "Hey lovebirds! Get a room,"
"Jacob, you're friends with Janna Ordonia, right?" Star asked Jacob. "She told me all about you,"
"The Filipino girl? Yes. I think we dated for a while," Jacob admitted, giving the blonde a sad whimsical look. "Very smart, funny, and just... not the one for me,"
"Okay, let's not talk about the sad past. Let's move on," Terra interrupted, pulling her best friend back and shoving a shy bespectacled boy in front of the blonde princess. "This is Franz Ramirez our secretary. Franz, say hi!"
"H-hello," Franz meekly said. "I have a spider-shaped scar on my wrist..." he said, tugging his sleeve down to reveal the scar.
"She does not need to know that!" Crystal protested, obviously disgusted at the antics of her fellow Mathlete.
"Whoa, that's cool!" Star remarked, grabbing Franz's wrist and inspecting the scar he was talking about. "It really does look like a fat spider,"
Franz beamed with pride. "I know, right?"
"It's not something to be proud of! That's an imperfection!" Crystal complained, crossing her arms, visibly upset for being ignored for too long.
"You're an imperfection," Jacob retorted, rolling his eyes at the girl.
"I hate you!" Crystal declared, then ran away.
"Gosh, I hate it when she does that," Miles sighed, jamming his hands in the pockets of his loose pants. "I apologize for my sister's antics," he said, giving Jacob a rueful look.
"Don't worry about it, bruh. We know she's cray," Jacob said, giving the redhead a pat on the back. "We good,"
Miles turned to Star. "The girl over there, as I have just said, is my sister Crystal. She's an acquired taste..." he explained.
"Don't worry about it... um... sorry, I didn't catch your name," Star said, putting Franz's hand down and extended hers over to Miles.
Miles sighed before removing his right hand from his pocket. "Miles Boulevard. The useless treasurer of the Mathletes," he said, giving Star's hand a gentle caress.
"Um, I was expecting a handshake," Star said.
"I didn't shake your hand?" Miles asked.
"You didn't shake my hand. You rubbed it gently," Star replied.
"Okay, this time I'll shake your hand," Miles said, caressing Star's hand with his.
Jacob pressed his joy buzzer on Miles' back.
ZAP!
"Jacob, you ass!" Miles cursed.
"Can't help it dude! You're being creepy again," Jacob pointed out, pulling the redhead away from the princess. "Sorry blondie. If I'm notorious for being the best prankster in Echo Creek, then he's notorious for being the creepiest of the creeps in the entire campus,"
"It's not my fault if my body does not follow the intentions of my mind," Miles complained, jamming his right hand back into his pocket.
"It's called control, my friend," Jacob said. "Learn it!"
"Her hands are fucking smooth," Miles informed Jacob. "Have you noticed?"
"I didn't get the chance to feel her hands because of my joy buzzer, remember?" Jacob replied, removing the toy in front of the redhead.
"What lotion do you use, by the way?" Miles asked Star.
"Unicorn blood?" Star replied.
"Interesting..." Miles drawled, still transfixed at Star's porcelain skin.
"Okay! Um, we still have one more person to introduce to you," Terra said, pushing the blond Asian in front of the princess. "This is Nick Hamada, our public relations officer,"
"And of all the people you chose to be the PRO, you picked the one with the worst reputation in the group," Nick joked before giving Star's hand a firm handshake. "Hi, I'm Nick,"
"What have you done that made you worse than Miles?" Jacob asked Nick. "Bleach your hair?"
"Being the lead guitarist of the worst band ever. I'm surprised nobody has attempted to kill me yet," Nick responded, to which the Mathletes laughed. Marco nodded in approval. He's beginning to like Nick's brutal honesty.
"Didn't your parents say that they wanted to kill you for rejecting everything that's Asian about you?" Jacob pointed out.
"It's just a simple bleach, boys in Korea have done worse to their hair," Nick clarified. "Come on, you don't think it's bad, do you?"
"How many times must we convince you that it looks really good on you?" Terra asked, pretending to sound exasperated. "Nick, you're a very handsome guy. Bleaching your hair is a major improvement,"
"Hey, aren't you that guy in Oskar's band? The Wilderness?" Star asked.
Nick scratched the back of his head. "It's the Wilds," he corrected, before laughing it off. "But I don't blame you for getting our band name wrong. We're usually known as Oskar's band. You know how he tries to be the image of the group,"
"He sure deserves it. He's such a good musician," Star praised.
Nick looked like he was suckerpunched in the gut. "A-are you being serious right now?" he demanded.
Star nodded enthusiastically. "His voice is heavenly,"
"Sure... because he killed you with it," Marco remarked.
Nick guffawed. "Ha! Good one, Marc!"
Before Star could react, Waddles oinked loudly as if to say: "Hey! Don't forget me!"
Terra looked down and picked up the pig. "This is Waddles," she said. "The club's unofficial mascot,"
"Yeah, we've met," Star said, giving the pig a little handshake. "How are you, Waddles?"
Waddles responded with a grunt.
Don approached the princess and extended his hand. "I'm Don Donovan, the newest recruit of the Mathletes and a member of the PromCom-"
"I already know you!" Star interrupted, playfully pushing the ash-haired guy away from her.
"Haha, if you don't mind... Can you show them what happened in here? They wish to help Brielle," Don said.
Star looked relieved. "Oh, that's actually great news. Please, if you can do something about it," Star began to say as she led the group towards the broken moon prop. Jacob clicked his tongue at the sight. Miles just shook his head.
"All that hard work put to waste," was all Franz could say.
"So this is the moon prop everybody's been talking about. I tried using a spell to fix this, but apparently, it only works if all of the shards, fragments, and parts are piled together. That's why people are sweeping all of the pieces they could find in the middle of the room," she explained. "Then, if it is all complete, I can do my fixy-wixy spell and everything will be back to normal!"
"That's great!" Franz remarked. "But the original design looks intricate. It looks impossible to find all of the shards,"
"Where did you find the original design?" Don demanded.
Franz held up his phone and revealed an Instagram photo of the moon prop back when it was still fixed.
Don and Star gasped.
"Is that a bad thing?" Franz asked.
"Because Brielle said that it was meant to be a surprise," Star answered. Don nodded to confirm this.
Franz dragged the screen down to see the name of the photo uploader. "Ah, this was uploaded by a person named Pika-"
"No wonder!" Don exclaimed. "Y'see, that is the person who broke the prop,"
"Cool, I'll hack the system to remove the picture in her profile," Franz said, furiously typing on his phone.
"You can hack using your phone?" Terra asked.
"Yep," Franz replied. "Give me five minutes, it's gone,"
"Hold on, before you do that Franz… Isn't that a good thing Star?" Marco said, turning from the bespectacled boy to the blonde princess. "You'll have a reference of what the moon prop used to look like. Maybe you can use a creation spell instead of a restoration spell?"
"Oooh, good suggestion," Star said, pulling out her wand, then frowned.
"What's wrong?" Marco asked.
"I just realized that I can't do it because I don't know the entire design," Star admitted.
"Speaking of whole designs, we didn't exactly create a blueprint," Don explained. "We just had people build whatever and attached it around the moon prop,"
"Damn," Marco muttered.
"I have a better idea," Dipper said, returning to the group.
"Prez! Where have you been?" Jacob asked, slinging his arm over the president's shoulder.
"While the rest of you were doing your introductions to Star, I was over there looking at the damage. Seeing how many figurines were created to surround the globe, I think the probability of achieving what Star wants will take time," Dipper shared.
Don put his hands on his hips. "So, what do you suggest?"
"I highly suggest that we redesign the thing based on the parts that are recovered. Unfortunately, since most of the pieces were made out of glass, they cannot be reshaped unless we have something that could melt them so... scrap the idea," Dipper continued.
"But recreating takes time!" Star pointed out.
"That's where you come in," Dipper said, giving Star an excited smile. "Didn't you say you can create stuff with your wand?"
Star was taken aback by Dipper's confidence in her. "Provided with the materials and a reference, I could,"
"The movie already started," Franz announced, looking at his watch.
Dipper frowned. "Sorry guys. But we're here to help Brielle out. Perhaps some other time?"
The rest of the Mathletes nodded in agreement. "For Brielle," Terra said.
"For Brielle," the rest of the Mathletes echoed.
Tools fell out of the box as the girl holding its handle had abruptly let the toolbox go.
She couldn't believe her eyes. In the middle of the room stood an actual moon.
"It's the moon!" Brielle remarked, still shaking her head in disbelief.
"So, we did our best to make it look like the actual thing," Dipper explained to the wide-eyed Latina. "Terra drove Don and Jacob to where Don's dad was… since the guy happened to be a demolitions expert hired by the government to demolish old buildings… that's where they got metal, sand, gravel, and cement for the whole thing. Nick and Miles, together with the ArtCo and the PromCom, crushed all of the glass pieces to coat the entire thing. Star used her magic to mix all of these elements together and created another… or a better moon prop. Of course, Franz helped her find high definition pictures of the moon since he hacked NASA's system to get an accurate picture of what the moon currently looks like,"
"How did you make it glow like that?" Brielle asked, pointing at the outline of the moon.
"Mimicked how the moon mirrors light from the sun? Marco and I attached spotlights on the corners of the gym, and directed it towards the moon," Dipper said. "The glass is responsible for the glow,"
"And h-how did you make it float like that? I don't see any strings!" Brielle asked.
"I made a bigger verson of Magnetic Levitation Device," Dipper said, beaming with pride. "But I couldn't have done it without Star, the Mathletes, PromCom and ArtCo…"
"Who knew Science projects could save your ass in the future!" Terra exclaimed as she wrapped her arms around Brielle. "Please say you like it,"
Brielle nodded as she smiled gratefully. "I love it... thank you!"
"Yay! She loves it!" Terra announced.
Everybody in the room cheered.
"How we effectively managed to cram everyone in this Karaoke room, I'll never ever know," Dipper remarked.
Marco took out his dimensional scissors and showed it to Dipper. "Star told me to use this,"
"Dimensional scissors! I read about that in Grunkle Ford's… never mind…" Dipper covered his mouth and cleared his throat. "I mean, you gotta tell me how it works," he said, trying his best to conceal his excitement.
"All you have to do is to think where you want to go and it will take you there," Marco explained.
"Mathematical," Dipper muttered, surveying the glass walls and the bio luminescent lights. "So where exactly are we?"
"A place called the Scum Bucket," Marco explained. "Try their drinks over at the bar, they serve really great stuff."
"Huh, in fact I will! Who knows if I'll ever get the chance to try out alien delicacies again," Dipper said.
Marco just laughed as he watched his friend rush over to the bar.
"You're the best cousin ever, you know that?" said a voice from behind.
Marco whirled around to see Brielle holding two bottles that pretty much looked like soda. "Hey Brielle, you have awesome friends who look out for you," he told her.
"You're my cousin and my friend. Imagine that, you're literally the best of both worlds," Brielle pointed out, handing him one of the drinks. "Anyway, you could use a drink,"
"Thanks," Marco said, graciously accepting the bottle from Brielle's hands.
"So, Star Butterfly-"
"Yes, I like her," Marco said.
Brielle blinked. "I didn't say anything yet, nor was I implying anything,"
"I know, it's just that… I just felt the need to let you know," Marco said.
"It's bound to happen," Brielle nonchalantly said, taking a swig from the bottle. "I mean, you guys live together. Proximity effect, all that psychology shit,"
Marco awkwardly laughed. "Yeah, I do what you mean,"
"So?" Brielle asked.
"So what?"
"Are you gonna ask her to the dance with you?"
"The- the dance?"
Brielle nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if you like a girl, you should ask her to the dance?"
"A rule created by teenage romantic comedies," Marco slurred. "Uh… This drink tastes sweet,"
"Huh, mine tastes sour,"
"I guess it appeals to your tastes," Marco observed, chugging his drink to half.
"Don't change the subject," Brielle said. "Ask her out. Now's a very good opportunity to do so," she said, pointing Star as she talked with the biker brunette.
"Terra's talking to her, I don't want to interrupt them," Marco said.
"Actually she's pushing all of the guys away from Star. She's just waiting for you to come over so that you can get your opportunity to ask Star out,"
Marco watched as Terra 'accidentally' splash a guy with her drink. "Whoops! I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…"
"Anyway, go. This is your chance," Brielle urged.
"Fine, I will," Marco stated, straightening his back. "In fact, I'm going over there now,"
Brielle smiled to herself as she watched her cousin leave.
Marco approached the girls. "Hi Terra, hey Star…"
"Oh, hey there Marco… Star's all yours. I gotta find Nick. See you guys around," Terra said, giving Star a wink before excusing herself.
"Hey, um… how are you?" Marco asked.
"Great! I am very happy!" Star replied.
"That's very good to know," Marco said, nodding.
"Hey, can I have some of that drink?" Star asked.
Marco lifted his bottle up. "This?"
"Yeah, I'm parched." Star admitted.
"Sure, take everything!" Marco said, giving the drink to the blonde princess.
Star did what she was told, chugging everything to the last drop before giving the Latino his bottle back.
"Um," Marco said, leaving the bottle on an empty table. "Star, is there a place where we can talk?"
"Talk? Let's talk right here!"
"No, I mean a quiet place where we can talk about important stuff,"
"Um, there's a VIP room upstairs,"
Marco instantly looked worried. "Do we have to pay for it?"
"Uh, I'm a princess, remember?"
Marco looked relieved. "Great, let's go," he said, offering his hand to the princess. She took it and led him upstairs.
"Hello princess Butterfly," the bouncer greeted before opening the door of the VIP room for the duo.
"Hi Chad, keep everyone out. We wish for privacy,"
"As you wish, madam," the bouncer said as he closed the door.
"It's just you and me now," Marco pointed out.
"Yeah, and I can finally remove this," Star said, taking off her scarf.
Marco walked over the blonde and inspected the small welt on her neck. "It doesn't look bad," he observed.
"Concealer… but even some parts can't be hidden," Star admitted.
Marco nodded. "I'm sorry for leaving a mark on your neck,"
"It's no biggie. I wanted to use my magic to make it go away but after that incident involving your arm… I just… well, I thought I should just avoid the risk,"
Marco patted her head. "Good girl,"
Star, obviously flustered, jerked back in response.
Startled, Marco retracted his hand and looked away from the princess. "Sorry," he muttered.
"No, no, don't be," Star assured him. He really did look a little odd, as if he'd eaten something that had gone off. Was it the drink he held in his hand earlier? "Are you all right? Was it the drink?" she checked.
He looked up at her, and then… it was really quite impossible to describe, or even understand what just happened.
Marco's eyes met Star's, and even though he previously claimed that Jackie had the best shade of eyes, he had no idea that Star's eyes were… ethereal.
Star didn't understand why her legs suddenly felt wobbly, and quite simply, she lost her breath. Just lost it. Her balance, too. She stumbled back into the purple couch, and sat there for a moment, wondering why her heart was racing.
All Marco did was look at her and she… swooned?
Damn it, she swooned.
Marco had a curious look on his face overall, but his mouth seemed to be smiling. Oh dear, he must think of her as an absolute fool. Star never really swooned for normal boys, and… well, that's what it must have felt like. It made her head feel strange, like it was floating, all fizzy and queer… and he might think that she made a fool out of herself.
Which was bad enough, except that she'd spent most of her time poking fun at how he made a fool out of himself whenever Jackie's around. Dear, oh dear.
She scrambled back to her feet and cleared her throat. And in her best princess voice, she announced that she was fine.
"I'm fine," she called out. "Just lost my footing,"
Marco nodded slowly, and Star realized that he wasn't entirely with her. He seemed to be preoccupied with something else. Then, as if quietly coming back into place, he looked up and smiled. "So, um… it's getting late,"
"It is," Star murmured in agreement, although she did not think it could be very much past ten. And all of a sudden, she realized that she didn't want to go home just yet. Everybody downstairs was having so much fun.
"So are we leaving?" she asked. "'Cause I think it's too early to leave, and I was just about to say that we should stay until everyone wishes to go home. Or, I mean, until most of the people want to go home… We can't leave them because we're all in another dimension and they would probably freak if they don't have any means of transportation to return home… and… uh…" she trailed off… stopping herself. She was already rambling.
She smiled at him, as if that could make up for the nonsense coming out from her mouth. "As you said," she continued. "It is late,"
Marco nodded again.
And she felt the need to say something more, because he wasn't doing so. "Um, do you want to talk about something?"
"Yeah," he admitted, but his voice was so soft that she didn't really hear it. Rather, she saw the words form on his lips.
And again, the feeling came back. It started with her fingertips, floating up her arms, to her neck… until she shivered and exhaled, as if she could set the strange feeling free with her breath. But the funny feeling stayed with her, and Marco was the reason why.
Star was going mad. This had to be it. Or the drink she chugged from Marco's bottle.
"I need to get a breath of fresh air," she announced as she wrapped her scarf around her neck, moving past the Latino as she approached the entrance of the VIP room.
"N-no!" Marco exclaimed, looking up. He hadn't moved from his spot.
"Oh!" Star whipped her head back and faced her friend. "So why did we need privacy?" she asked.
"Dance," Marco gritted out of his teeth.
"You wanted to dance… in private?"
"NO! I mean, the dance," Marco chuckled, shaking his head as he smiled, just a little bit. "Do you want to go to the dance with me?"
And there it came again, that breathless feeling, all bubbly and strange. "Yes," she found herself whispering, and when Marco looked like he didn't hear it, she said it again. Louder and clearer, this time. "Yes, I want to go to the dance with you,"
A big smile broke on Marco's face. "She said yes," he happily said, like he successfully won the lottery.
Star couldn't help herself, letting out a little squeal, jumping into the arms of the boy she liked.
What a perfect evening this had turned out to be.
Tyler Burbon: Thanks for being supportive and considerate! I really appreciate you!
Legacy18: Next chapter will be all about Starco, but the last part was written for you. Don't worry, M will be coming soon.
Beenbop: Now~
Gamerbox: Here it is! Thanks for the support. I didn't give up. I just had a very complicated schedule.
Love it: Thanks!
SirWaffleton: Bye
Guest 1 and 2: I interpreted your comments positively and thanks for thinking that my story IS THE SHIT. Hahaha
Ironically-delicious-donuts: Thanks! I gave up on competitive. That's where the toxic players are. Haha!
Fanficlife8976: Thanks so much! Although I tried my best to keep it friendly, I just couldn't.
Mad: I'm sorry
Jordanlink7856: Yep!
Sirleirbag: Thanks for the honest feed back! The next chapter will be all about Starco. You're right about the build up thing… it was the plan all along. :) As for Dipcifica, I'll find a way… :D
WantedFun: Here it is~
343 Guilty Spark: Thanks for the rating!
CutePichu64: Truuuu! Thanks for your feedback!
Banagicowl: Thanks so much!
Anonymims: I love Brielle too! Thanks for creating her. Yes! Coming soon!
Huge Mystery Addict: …uhh… you do realize that links don't work in this site right?
Someone 121: Hahaha. Okay thanks
Zinnia: Umm… Well, I'm excited. I'm just looking forward to Season 3. Tom's making a comeback baby
|-proxy-|: thanks!
Fell Dragon: Thanks bro! I took a while and for that I must apologize… here it is!
Guest 3: Me!
Satoshi-Frog: Thanks bruh, IDK… That part is still a mystery that I'm hoping you would fill in! As for Terra and Jacob… well, what do you think?
Aliyaperez101: YASSS. SORRY IF I TOOK A WHILE.
Kdmeowmd: Yeah, it is a crossover
: Brotato, Overwatch is the bomb. Pls beg your parents to get you the game. At least they will still fall for that trick because my parents keep telling me that I can't use them anymore
BLUE AVENGER18: I love you too
Pirelli-chan: Brielle says it sucks sometimes because her dad is rarely home but she understands the nature of his job.
Craztrain99: Coming right up!
MindyReader: Terra shakes her head at the first question. "Really? You're going to ask me that? Of course I choose Dipper!"
Jacob shrugs. "Terra, I guess… Crystal sucks,"
Franz smiles. "Depends on the genre! Right now I'm addicted to Overwatch! Add me! Mushu#11701, America server!"
Miles: "I have to kiss Jacob?"
Jacob: "Fuck no!"
Miles: "Come back!"
Crystal: "…"
Terra: "Poor girl didn't get some sleep last night so she's calling in sick,"
DonDonatek: Hahaha! I'm glad you liked your character. More of him coming soon!
KrissDomm: Thanks!
SonicE1337: Thanks so much! Always happy I got you for support. Thanks for checking in on me… I just really got busy… I'm back now.